Collection of political commercials.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Various
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Political campaigns and elections; Eisenhower, Dwight David; Presidents

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: ERD. - - September 21, 2007
Subject: Effective for its time
Well done for its time. The first spot was the most creative, and the 3rd was the most dated. Historically, it is a priceless document of the mid 1950's.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - December 17, 2005
Subject: All The non-thinkers voted for Stevenson
A very nice collection of political advertisements that appeal to women, younger voters, the working man, and cute animated characters to convince them to vote for Ike. Unfortunately, they didnt have the jingle this time, but these ads very effectively appeal to the common man (especially the first one) by going out into the street and interviewing people like you and me! They all like Ike, so, as the Woman says in the third ad, all women are voting for Ike! You would be a common simpleton if you didnt!

Reviewer: trafalgar - - March 17, 2004
Subject: Priceless
17:31 of priceless historical value. It's amazing how much political advertising has changed, and even more amazing how much it hasn't.
Spot #1 is by far the strangest of the bunch. An everyman cab driver is taking his dog for a night-time walk past the White House, and stops to talk with us about the man inside. We never see Ike, just the White House by night, with a single light shining inside, as if to imply that Ike never sleeps. As stately organ music plays, we learn that Ike is strong on defense, compassionate at home (sound familiar?). The organ music swells, the camera focuses on that solitary shining light, and the cabbie's tone becomes more and more reverent as he imagines what Ike is thinking about right now. How he knows our problems, how much he cares for us, and how "tonight, as I'm thinking of Him, I've got a feeling He's thinking of me". That's right, Ike as God. Wow.
Spot #2 is classic man-on-the-street stuff. The old chestnut here is "he brought honesty and integrity back to the White House"... was Truman a big liar or something?
Spot #3 is aimed at the "soccer moms", er, excuse me, homemakers, with all the classic political arguments aimed at women to this day. You have kids, therefore you want a tough guy in charge of the country to keep us safe. Includes a primer on women's role in 1950's society: "They're the homemakers. They do the family buying, they make sure everyone is well-clothed and well-fed..."
Spot #4: Ike got us out of Korea. Now we're at peace, and we need Ike to keep it that way. The narrator ends this with a very hard sell, straight into the camera: "Can we gamble when the stakes are so high?...Are you willing to bet everything you love and hold dear that Stevenson can also keep us out of war? Are you that sure of it???"
Great stuff.

Shotlist

Contents: "I Like Ike" animated commercial, produced by Roy Disney and Citizens for Eisenhower-Nixon during the 1952 presidential campaign; Man walking dog; veterans speak; woman speaks; part-animated spot; others.



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